Construction Industry Council (CIC) is the largest umbrella organisation in construction, bringing together over 50 separate bodies which are professional CIC institutions, trade associations and research organisations. These DESIGNQUALITYINDICATOR organisations collectively represent over 500,000 individual professionals and 25,000 businesses engaged in ONLINE the commissioning, planning, design, production, management and maintenance of the built environment. CIC 26 Store Street London WC1E 7BT T 020 7399 7400 www.cic.org.uk DQI T 020 7399 7424 F 020 7399 7425 www.dqi.org.uk [email protected] Design: DUFFY Contents This publication sets out Foreword 02 the Design Quality Indicator Introduction 03 in detail. It explains how to use DQI Online, and The purpose of the DQI 04 provides examples of How has the DQI been used so far? 05 how the tool has already assisted in the delivery What is the DQI tool? 06 of quality buildings. DQI Online 08 DQI facilitators 10 The future of the DQI 11 DQI in use 12 Case studies 13 Glossary 17 01 Foreword Introduction Every time we commission a building project we are developing a The Design Quality Indicator is the pioneering process to prototype. One or all of the key elements of the project are being evaluate the design quality of buildings. The development of the used for the first time; we have a new site, new team and/or new DQI has been led by CIC with sponsorship from the DTI, CABE client. The question is how do we monitor this unique process to and Constructing Excellence and with support from OGC. The ensure that we get a consistently good product? DQI has been developed into an easy to use web tool, DQI Online, for everyone involved in the procurement and use Traditionally the end user has become a guinea pig in the process. of buildings. We don’t know until the building is occupied if it really meets the needs of the end user. This means that we frequently end up with Sir John Egan’s Strategic Forum for Construction report unhappy customers and waste time and resources trying to Accelerating Change (published in September 2002) highlighted accommodate design issues that we didn’t anticipate. the key importance of design quality. The Strategic Forum for Construction, under the Chairmanship of Peter Rogers has The DQI is a welcome innovation as it takes the guess work out declared that use of the DQI should be one of five major headline of the whole design process. It focuses the team on the needs of targets by which the industry’s ongoing performance should be the end user, involves all the stakeholders throughout the process judged between 2004 and 2007: and helps develop a more sustainable building. The overall result is an improved product and importantly we can learn from the “By the end of 2004, 500 projects will have used the Design process because the DQI allows us to measure how the Quality Indicators and by the end of 2007, 60% of all publicly improvements are made. funded or PFI projects (having a value in excess of £1 million) and 20% of ALL projects (having a value in excess of £1 million) to utilise the DQIs.” Peter Rogers Chairman of Strategic Forum for Construction and Chairman of Constructing Excellence 02 03 The purpose of the DQI How has the DQI been used so far? What is it for? The brief version allows the project The DQI Trailblazing Scheme was launched The DQI was used by MORI for the Audit It has been developed to help all built aspirations to be clearly set, addressing in July 2002 and was the first opportunity Commission to survey 95 end users in 18 environment stakeholders gain more value the opinions of the stakeholders, and can for the construction industry and client PFI and Non-PFI schools, this led to the from the design of buildings, and to assist be used through strategic briefing stages organisations to use the DQI tool on projects. publication of ‘PFI in Schools; The Quality in improving the quality of buildings. to detailed brief to set priorities and answer and Cost of Buildings and Services questions such as: What do we want? By the end of the Trailblazing Scheme just Provided by Early Private Finance Initiative Who is it for? Where do we want to spend the money? over 1,000 people had completed the DQI, Schemes’. A non technical device, the DQI can be of which 330 were end users of projects. used by all stakeholders involved in the Mid-design version allows the client Case studies highlighting the experiences of Other evaluation tools production and use of buildings, including and design teams to check whether early four Trailblazers can be found on page 13. The DQI as a product measure has been public and private clients, developers, aspirations have been met and allows developed to work with the existing financiers, design firms, contractors, adjustments in focus and quality to be Other design measurement tools performance measures from Constructing building managers and occupants. made accordingly. It can be used The DQI is the major construction industry Excellence, in particular the Headline KPIs throughout the design phase when the design evaluation tool, but it sits alongside which assess the process – the delivery When can it be used? project can still respond to change. other sector specific toolkits to measure the of the building. It also complements The DQI questionnaire encompasses value of design. The DQI has been involved sustainability tools such as SPeAR, questions which are relevant at any stage Ready for occupation version is used with these other projects, to help create a BREEAM and EPIs. in the development of a building and the immediately before occupation to check consensus on design evaluation and tool can be revisited and re-used whether the brief/original intent has been produce synergy in approach. throughout the life of the project. achieved. The NHS Estate’s Achieving Excellence Ideally the DQI is used at every key stage In-use version is used in order to receive Design Evaluation Toolkit was produced of the development; it can also be used feedback from the project team and the to assist hospitals developing design repeatedly at a particular stage. building users to help make improvements specifications and shares a common Key Design Performance Quality for the next project, and can lead on to strategy with the DQI. Indicators Indicators There are four versions of the tool and more thorough post-occupancy studies. DQI Online automatically adjusts the Defence Estates’ design evaluation method, questions displayed so they are relevant DEEP, is a focused design study of users to the particular phase of the project that of military housing to help users address is being assessed. the quality of their housing. Sustainability Tools 04 05 What is the DQI tool? The DQI tool assists a 1. The DQI questionnaire 2. The DQI weightings 3. The DQI visualisation building’s procurement The DQI questionnaire is a short, simple, The DQI operates with a dual weighting The DQI is graphically presented in a team to define and check non-technical set of statements that collect system which firstly allows results to number of ways, each of which help the views from all stakeholders by looking be visualised depending how all the allow comparisons between: the evolution of design at the functionality, build quality and impact respondents judge the success of various – Groups of respondents, comparing the of buildings: aspects of the building. quality at key stages in views of the buildings eventual users with those of the delivery team the development process. Functionality is concerned with the way in A second level of weighting will address: which the building is designed to be useful – Stages of a project, from the opinions Fundamental factors which every building There are three parts and is split into use, access and space established at the inception stages of must achieve in order to function a project, and how these are being to the DQI tool: Build quality relates to the performance Added value starts to indicate that the achieved by the design of a building fabric and is split into building will add value to the activities performance, engineering and construction – Schemes within a portfolio of projects for which it is intended Impact refers to the building’s ability to Excellence is achieved when the design create a sense of place, and to have a sparkles as a whole by satisfying the positive effect on the local community and fundamental factors and adds value environment. It is split into character and innovation, form and materials, internal environment and urban and social nt integration excelle fu n All projects exist within a context of finance, d il u it time, and environmental resources and b y these are high on the agenda of all building commissioners, financiers and developers. Good design quality enables the better Excellence deployment of these resources. The DQI addresses this by advising professional Added Value input, and it has been found that the use of a DQI facilitator has proved particularly Fundamental important at briefing stage. impact Overlapping quality fields 06 07 DQI Online DQI Online is the web based version Face-to-face Remote use of the tool. It is straightforward to initiate and easy for respondents to use. The Respondents attend a The DQI leader briefs results are obtained instantly and are meeting and are given a respondents – by visualised graphically to help facilitate presentation by a facilitator telephone, or through a discussion about project aspirations, and on the DQI.